The People's Avenger
by SetFireToTheRainbow
Summary: King Zeus was killed by an assassin, who failed to kill his children. Thalia and Jason ran, and their whereabouts are unknown. Athena, a corruptive power-hungry tyrant, took over the kingdom. Annabeth is her daughter. Percy is a villager who doesn't like the way Athena runs things. Percabeth. Rated T just to be safe. No swearing. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**I know that taking on THREE stories is a bit much, but I really feel this one. I'll try as hard as possible to update fast and efficiently.**

**Prologue**

King Zeus was a good king. Not perfect, but what king is? He kept the crime rate as far down as possible. He treated the poor like actual people. He tried to make people's lives pleasant and worthwhile.

However, he did not trade with the countries that did not do the same as he. Since none of the other kingdom's nobility was concerned with the villagers, King Zeus refused to commerce with them. His kingdom remained self-sufficient. They grew their own food, mined their own metals, and kept trading within their walls.

This angered many of the surrounding kingdoms. Finally, one king decided that he was fed up with King Zeus's reign. He hired an assassin to kill the king.

The assassin succeeded.

King Zeus was found in his office, his throat slit open, the blood still pumping out of the gruesome wound. He was dead.

He left behind a daughter and a son.

Thalia was supposed to be the next ruler when she was old enough, but the king who had hired the assassin to kill her father was soon aware of her presence. She and her young brother, Jason, were pursued by the assassin. At the expense of two loyal guards, Poseidon Jackson and Hades di Angelo, they escaped into the village of the kingdom. The assassin never came looking for them again.

Meanwhile, another claimed the throne. Athena Chase, relative of Zeus. She was a tyrant, a ruthless ruler. Annabeth Chase, her daughter, became the princess. Her father, Fredrick Chase, was killed, mysteriously drowned before Athena became queen.

Athena let the villages become slums. She reinforced trade with other kingdoms. She let the crime rates fly sky high. Peasants were forced to work for long hours with little pay. Children were worked to the bone. Education was almost nonexistent. Only the richest children were educated. Whippings were common and expected. Poverty raged throughout the streets. People starved to death.

One person, naming himself 'The People's Avenger', or 'The Avenger' for short, stole from the guards, giving to the poor. He stopped the guards from killing people. He lowered the crime rate. He lived up to his name.

The Queen hated him, constantly sending her guards after him. She never forgave him for the pestering he gave her. He never forgave her for the misery she placed upon her people.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One.**

Annabeth rushed up to her mother, her blond curls bouncing.

"Hi Mommy!" She grinned happily.

Athena sighed. She was in the middle of a video-conference meeting with another king. "Another time, darling. I'm in a meeting."

Annabeth's grin faded. "Oh. Okay…" She trudged out of the room, deflated.

Sighing, she flopped on her bed. Her best friend/maid came up to her. "Anything I can help you with?"

"No, but thanks anyways, Piper."

"Sure." Piper said, smiling. "What's wrong?"

"Mommy doesn't play with me anymore."

"I'm sure she's just busy." Piper sat next to little Annabeth. "She'll play soon."

The two smiled at each other, pleased with their friendship.

_NINE YEARS LATER_

Annabeth's sixteenth birthday just happened to fall on Athena's biggest conference day. Annabeth hoped that she would ditch the meeting for Annabeth. She never had. Annabeth and Athena didn't get along very well.

Annabeth approached the table at breakfast, taking a seat. Piper stood a distance away. Athena's own servant, Nancy, was right next to Athena's chair, ready and waiting for an order. The table was long and large, but at it sat only two people: Annabeth and her mother. Athena was concentrating on filling out a piece of paper in front of her. She read it and re-read it carefully multiple times.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hello, Annabeth."

Annabeth shifted in her seat at the dining table, picking at her food. "So…today's a big day, huh?"

"Yes." Athena didn't look up from her work. "I have a huge conference today. You should know that."

"I do…" Annabeth was a bit confused. Did Athena not remember her own daughter's birthday? "Do you know what else is today?"

"Is this a trick question? Annabeth, you know that I plan nothing on Conference days."

"Not even your own daughter's birthday?!" Annabeth exploded.

Athena looked up. "Happy Birthday." She went back to her work. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to-"

"That's it?! That's it!? Just 'Happy Birthday'?! Do you even remember how old I am? I can't believe you!"

"Annabeth, not everything is about you."

"I've put up with you for sixteen years." Annabeth tried to level her breathing. "I let you do whatever you do for your 'trade meetings'. I leave you alone. I always have. Can't you at least recognize me for one day!?"

"I recognize you. You are the future queen. I've even arranged your marriage!"

"You _what!?_" Annabeth shouted.

"Yes. You are marrying Prince Luke Castellan of-"

"Prince _Luke!?_"

"Yes. It is perfect for our economy. You marry him, the kingdoms unite-"

"When, exactly, were you going to tell me this?"

"Today, actually."

"No! I will never marry him! You can't make me!" Annabeth sounded five years old, but she didn't care. She stormed away, ignoring her mother's soothing words behind her.

LINE BREAK

The People's Avenger watched from afar as a guard robbed an innocent child. He shook his head. Even though this sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen, it occurred quite often.

The kid screamed in fear as the guard pulled out a sword. The Avenger decided to take action.

"Stop!" He yelled in his disguised voice. He pulled out his own sword. "Stop, or else!"

"Or else what?" The guard sneered.

"Or else I will strike you down, cutting your chest deeply, and then I will slit your throat. You will suffocate to death. I will drag your dead body to the furnace, burn it, and scatter the ashes in front of the Queen's palace doors. People will attempt to approach the palace, and they will be crushing the miniscule grains of your remains!" The Avenger didn't know what half of the words meant, but that didn't matter. His cousin had given him a few scripts similar to that one, and he read them every time an attacker asked 'or else what?'

The Avenger raised his sword. "So, do you wish to challenge me? Or will you drop the child? I can assure you that my skill matches my word, and I swear, I will carry through with my threat so help me!" Those words were from his cousin, too. The Avenger had a few cousins, and they argued so much over his speeches. He smiled at the memory. That didn't matter; he wore a mask so that his opponents could only see his fierce, sea-green eyes and his all-black clothing.

"I accept your challenge, you village scum." The guard spat, dropping the kid. The kid ran into a nearby house, with a fearful look back at the two.

The Avenger gestured for the guard to make the first move. The guard charged, his green-and-silver uniform flashing.

The guard lunged, thrusting his sword at the Avenger's chest. The Avenger easily blocked. The two swiped, parried, and slashed at each other. The Avenger caught the guard's unprotected leg with his sword, making him howl in pain. He then cut a deep gash into the guard's chest. The guard fell to his knees, clutching his bloody chest in shock. The Avenger grinned.

"Remember me, guard. I am The People's Avenger, and I shall prevail. My people will rise up against the Queen, and she will fall. Nothing will stand against me. Nothing will stop me." The Avenger swiftly cut the guard's throat, and the guard suffocated to death.

Grunting, the Avenger dragged the guard into the nearest fire. After watching the guard's body catch fire and burn, melting into ashes, the Avenger collected the ashes in a tin can from the street.

The Avenger climbed a nearby rooftop, jumping from house to house until he reached the Queen's palace. He spread the ashes around and scribbled a note, sticking it to the door. As an added touch, he threw a rock, breaking another window.

The Avenger scrambled away, preferring to keep one step ahead of the Queen.

A servant rushed out, noticing the note pinned to the door. After he read it, he looked around hurriedly, only finding the darkness of the night.

He took the note to the Queen, who scanned it quickly.

_Queen Athena,_

_Your probably wondering about that ash in front of yur door. Wel, say hello to one of your guards. He was so prideful. Just lik you. Lik him, you to wil fal. _

_Lov,_

_The People's Avenger_

"Take this note and burn it. Do not show anyone else. And sweep the front doorstep." Queen Athena ordered. "Call in General Octavian. Immediately."

The servant left hurriedly. Only a few minutes later, General Octavian bowed in front of Queen Athena. "You summoned me, My Queen?"

"Yes. We have a problem. The People's Avenger, as he calls himself, is loose in the city. Catch him. Bring him before me. I will execute him publicly."

"It will be done, My Queen." Octavian bowed again, and, grinning maliciously, he left to command his soldiers.

LINE BREAK

_12 hours later_

Percy got up, changing quickly into his regular clothes. In the closet, a black ninja-like suit hung from a hook. Percy ignored it, pulling on a ratty blue t-shirt and some beat-up cargo shorts. It was a typical villager outfit.

Percy made his way to his favorite place- the restaurant. It was always crowded, but nobody ever touched Percy's table. It was his (and his cousins') table. Everybody knew where they sat, and they knew not to touch certain drunkard's seats, or certain family's tables. Not everybody knew each other well in the village, but people knew where they stood.

Percy joined his three cousins at the table. His youngest cousin, Nico, was a small boy with silky long, dark hair. His dark eyes could stare straight into your soul. Nico used to have a sister, but she was killed years back. Ever since, Nico was distant and disconnected from the world.

Percy's other two cousins were well-known everywhere. Every neighboring kingdom knew about King Zeus's death, and that he left behind two children. Nobody ever found out the names of the future rulers (names of the ruler's family were kept a secret in the palaces to protect them), but everyone was told of their story. They assumed that the two had died in the woods long ago, but they were wrong. The brother-sister duo had come back to the slums of their kingdom in the hopes of rallying the people to create an army against the Queen. So far, they were unsuccessful, but that didn't deter them.

Thalia and Jason looked nothing alike. Thalia had short, spiky black hair that was consistently unruly. Jason kept his perfect, short blond hair nice and straight. Thalia was built like a long-distance runner while Jason looked like a wrestler. Both shared electric blue eyes. However, the people in the slums only owned brown and green eyes. The only person in the area who had blue eyes was King Zeus. If anyone knew about their eyes, they would be suspected, interrogated, and, if dealing with the wrong person, killed. Thalia had gotten a hold of (stolen) two sets of brown colored contacts when she ran away, so she and Jason wore them to be disguised.

Percy's cousins were the only people who knew of his true identity. They always wanted to accompany him on his adventures, but Percy always came up with legitimate reasons why they couldn't go.

"So? How was it?" Nico asked Percy, leaning forward.

"Good. I killed another guard, left the Queen a note." His voice was low.

"Awesome."

"What did the note say?"

"I don't know, somethin about how the guard was prideful, so are you, I'm gonna get you, somethin like that."

"When can I come with you?" Nico whined.

"You're not old enough!"

"I'm fifteen!"

"And I'm seventeen! You could get killed!"

"Oh, come on! I'm not that stupid."

"Sure."

"I still don't see the risk of _me_ going." Thalia complained.

"If they capture you-"

"-which they won't. Ever."

"-then they would see that, obviously, you're the rightful ruler, Zeus's daughter. Same goes for you, Jason."

"I'm not Zeus's daughter!" Jason looked offended.

"I _meant_ that they would know who you are. Eyes aren't everything."

"Come on, Percy! I'm a good fighter! At least let me come with you _once_." Thalia insisted.

"No."

"I'm totally older than you, too."

"Are not!"

"I'm eighteen."

"And?"

"Percy, do you remember how to count?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Come on, Thalia. One, three, five, two, four, eight, seven, six, ten, nine, thirteen, twelve, eleven, forty-two, eighteen, seventeen, tweeny,"

"Wait, what? What is tweeny?"

"Not to mention that you skipped, like," Jason counted on his fingers. "twelve numbers!"

"It's not my fault I didn't get a proper education!"

"Well, I _would_ teach you, but you don't let me!"

"I don't have time!"

"Whatever."

"…okay. _Maybe_."

"What?" Thalia looked at him, confused.

"_Maybe_ you can come."

Thalia, Jason, and Nico grinned at once. "IF! If you can keep quiet, fend for yourself, and get into as much trouble as possible without being caught."

Nico shrugged. "I'm always quiet."

"Please. I can fight better than you!" Thalia rolled her eyes.

Jason smiled. "Trouble is my middle name."

LINE BREAK

_Nighttime_

The four were dressed completely in black.

"So, what do we do now?" Nico asked in a high-pitched voice to disguise himself.

"Dude, drop the annoying voice. Make it different, but not girly."

"Okay." Nico replied in a gravelly voice. "How's this?"

"Fine." Percy sighed. "Okay. First, we just kinda walk around, looking for trouble. How about we split up. That way, we cover more ground. I can't get everything on my own. If you're in trouble, caw like a bird. And remember. If you get a guard, fight him, kill him. Make a threat and follow through with it. Also, burn him until his body is ash. Collect the ash in a can and spread it around the palace door. Leave a note calling yourself The People's Avenger."

"Wait. _You're_ the People's Avenger."

"So?"

"So, when we need to talk to each other, what are our names gonna be? Like, Avenger 1, Avenger 2, or what?"

"Uh, we can be superheroes. I'm Aquaman." Percy quickly made up an idea.

"Aquaman? That's stupid. I'm Superman!" Jason bragged.

"Nico should be Green Lantern!"

"Um, no."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"NO."

"Seriously?"

"NICO SAYS NO!"

"Okay, okay. Find your own name, then."

"…fine. I'll be Green Lantern." Nico kicked at the ground, unable to think up any other superhero.

"Let's make Thalia Hawk!"

"What?"

"He's good with a bow. Like you."

"Fine. But if I find out that he's a stupid guy that-"

"-yes, yes, yes, you're fine, you're fine. Now! Let's get out of here and get to work." Percy clapped his hands together. "I'll see you in the morning."

"See you soon." Nico disappeared, fading into the blackness.

Jason saluted Percy and began to climb on top of a roof.

Thalia spun around, going left. Percy went right.

Percy thought the night would be practically uneventful. Oh, how he was wrong.

**Yay! How was it? Good? Bad? Terrible? Perfect (haha yeah, right)? Please Review! Please, tell me what it needs. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey.**

Annabeth furiously packed a backpack, and unpacked it just as quickly. She decided that it would be best not to take anything but her dagger. She hid the backpack under her dresser. Looking back, she raced back to her dresser and snatched the leather bag of gold coins she kept hidden. She slipped both the dagger and the gold into a secret pocket in her pants.

Piper knocked, causing Annabeth to whirl around in shock. "Hey." She entered the room. "What are you doing?"

"Thinking." Annabeth replied quickly.

Piper laughed. "You're always doing that."

"Yeah, well…"

"I know your mom hurt you." Piper laid a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. Annabeth tensed in anticipation. She would miss Piper when she ran away, but she didn't want to feel too guilty after she left. "You don't have to keep putting up with her."

"What are you saying?" Annabeth was confused.

Piper looked around, checking over her shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "I have a place you can stay. In the village. He won't be able to hold you for long, but you can stay for a little while." She whispered this closely into Annabeth's ear. "His name is Jason. He has blond hair that's perfect, never messed up, and brown eyes. He has a sister with spiky black hair and brown eyes. You'll find him in the restaurant closest to the work place."

"Thank you." Tears sprang into Annabeth's eyes. She quickly wiped them away.

"Stay safe." Piper smiled one last time, and left the room.

LINE BREAK

Jason observed the scene from a rooftop. He loved the wind whipping against his face, ruffling his black clothing and cooling his face. Only his 'brown' eyes showed through his matching black 'Avenger' uniform.

Jason checked the area. Sure enough, a guard was whipping an old man for working slowly. Jason jumped from the first-story house, flipping from the roof and landing smoothly on his face. He heard a sickening _crack_, and the blood flowed from his nose.

"Ouch…" Jason stood shakily, holding his nose.

The guard snickered. "Looks like you're stupid enough-"

"I'm not stupid!" Jason's voice was pinched, like his nose. He painfully attempted to crack it back, and gasped in pain as it 'worked'. He ignored the blood and drew his golden sword. He remembered a good speech he had written for Percy.

"You hurt this citizen. Now, I will hurt you. Nothing will stand in my way as I conquer this kingdom! First, we shall duel. During this duel, I will damage your sword arm. Next, I will puncture your heart with my sword. You will die, and your last thought will be of pain and suffering. I am The People's Avenger. And I will overthrow this tyranny."

"Try, kid." The guard drew his own sword.

"I am no child. I am The People's Avenger!"

"You're no Avenger. The only known thing about the Avenger is his sea-green eyes. Your eyes are brown."

_That's what you think!_ Thought Jason. "Alas, your last memory will be of me and my sword. Die, you coward!"

Jason gestured for the guard to come at him. The guard attacked, and the battle began.

LINE BREAK

Thalia didn't see how her brother could jump from roof to roof. It was a stupid idea, and he could easily get himself hurt.

Thalia prowled the streets, looking for danger. Her bow was out and ready, her quiver full of arrows strapped to her back. Finally, she came across a thief wrestling with an innocent woman over a silver goblet.

"Let go!" The woman pleaded with the strong man. "Please! Sir, please stop!"

"Gimme it!" The man struggled, his black mask dripping with sweat. "Give it 'ere!"

"Stop!" Thalia commanded, aiming an arrow at the thief. "Release the cup. Now."

The man glanced over his shoulder and let go, surprised to find a girl aiming an arrow right in the middle of his forehead. Obviously, he was expecting a guard.

"You can't shoot." The man sneered.

"Wanna test me?"

"Who are you, girl?"

"I am The People's Avenger." Thalia answered simply.

"The People's Avenger is a boy with green eyes. He's bigger than you are, and he uses a sword. Nice try, though. I'll bet you can't even hit a target."

Thalia angrily shot the center of a wine bottle next to his head. The bottle shattered, spraying glass all over the man. The man ducked, covering his head in shock. "What the-"

"Leave, thief. And pray that I will never find you again, because if we meet again, your life will fall into my hands yet again."

The man ran, not looking back.

"Thank you, Miss." The woman gasped. "Are you really The People's Avenger?"

"I am that which you call me."

The woman looked over her shoulder, making sure that the guards weren't around. "If I were the fighter type, I would join you in a heartbeat. The Queen must fall." Quickly, she entered her house again, slamming the door.

Thalia continued on in her search for trouble.

LINE BREAK

Nico crouched behind a wall in a dark alley, gripping his deep, black sword tightly. He glared at a guard who was beating a young girl.

Nico took a deep breath. "Hey!" He shouted, emerging from the shadows. "Back off!"

The guard paused. "And who will stop me?"

"Me." Nico approached the guard bravely.

"Who are you, boy?"

"I am The People's Avenger."

"The Avenger has green eyes. Yours do not match. Go home, you wanna-be."

"You dare offend me?! My skill will outmatch yours! Let us fight, to the death. Winner takes all."

"Agreed. As you are the challenger, I shall make the first move." The guard drew his sword and began to contemplate where to strike first.

"Make your move, coward. For I shall cut your leg deeply, and then I shall swiftly decapitate you. The next details you have no need for, for you shall be deceased. I will burn you until your body disintegrates into ash. Next, I will collect the ashes and spread them among the doorway to the palace. Your memory will end, along with your life."

The guard gritted his teeth and struck.

LINE BREAK

Percy secretly followed Nico, the youngest. He didn't want his cousin to get hurt; he would never forgive himself. He found Nico fighting a guard. He seemed to have the situation under control. Nico brought the guard to his knees, slashing open a deep gash in the guard's leg. He swung his sword, decapitating the guard.

The ferocious look in Nico's eyes was enough to make Percy back away in fear. The only thing worse than that was the satisfied smile that followed.

"Nico?" Percy asked tentatively. Nico whirled around.

"P-Percy?! What are you _doing_ here!?"

"Uh…"

"I told you I could handle it!" Nico marched up to Percy, his finger pointing accusingly as him. "You don't have to baby me anymore! I can fight, I can keep myself alive. I'm not ten!"

"Nico, I-"

"I don't care! Just leave me alone! Go fight your own guard. I'm about to burn this one." Nico turned around, disgusted.

"Nico." Percy said quietly. "I was just honoring Bianca. I-"

"You're what." Nico turned his head to the side, his back still to Percy. His voice was dangerously low. "Don't you dare mention her ever again. You're the reason she's…she's…. Just leave me alone, Percy. I can handle myself."

Nico began walking towards the body of the guard, and Percy guiltily trudged away in the opposite direction, his head lowered in shame.

LINE BREAK

Thalia ran up to a guard yelling at a girl. The girl was about Thalia's age, with blond hair and startlingly gray eyes. She held out a bronze dagger, trying to ward off the guard. The guard had his sword out, and could easily overpower the girl.

Thalia notched an arrow. "Hey, ugly! Yeah, you in the uniform! Don't you know that the guards' jobs are to 'guard' the citizens, not to hurt them?"

The guard turned around, fury alight in his dark eyes. "Who are you to challenge me?"

"I am the People's Avenger."

"The People's Avenger is a boy with green eyes. _Stupid wanna-bees_." He muttered the last part under his breath.

"First, I'm going to disarm you." Thalia smiled. "Next, as you recover from your shock, I will shoot you right between the eyes. Charge me, and see what happens."

"I will, you Avenger." The guard sneered, and advanced towards Thalia. An arrow flew, knocking the guard's sword away. He looked up in shock. "What the-"

Thalia finished him off with an arrow right between the eyes. The guard's eyes rolled back up into his head and his body crumpled to the ground.

Thalia sighed, fetched her arrows, and looked up at the girl. "What are you still doing here? Who are you?"

_Annabeth's Pov_

"I'm…I'm Annabeth." Princess Annabeth decided that it was a good idea to use her real name. None of the peasants knew it, and it was easily remembered. "I'm…visiting."

The girl laughed bitterly. "Nobody visits here. You're definitely not from the slums though…." She looked over Annabeth in concentration.

"Who are you?" Annabeth tried, tiring of the silence.

"I am The People's Avenger."

"But the guard said…." Annabeth's eyes wandered to the dead guard on the ground. The girl seemed unconcerned about the body.

"I know what the guard said!" The girl snapped. "If you wanna call me something, call me 'The Avenger' or whatever. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get rid of this body before anyone sees it."

"What are you gonna do with it?" Annabeth gulped.

"Burn it and spread the ashes over the palace entrance." The Avenger said, rolling her eyes like it was something she did all the time.

Annabeth almost threw up. She had just sneaked out the same doorway a few hours ago. "Do you- do you do that a lot?"

"Uh, yeah. Every time." The girl stopped. "Where _exactly_ are you from?"

"Um, King Francis's kingdom." A name popped up in Annabeth's mind.

"Oh. Okay." The girl seemed to be content by the tone of her voice, but her body was still tense.

_Thalia's Pov_

Annabeth was obviously lying. King Francis had a very poor kingdom, and he had no daughters. The peasants would never dress as rich as she was dressed. Thalia didn't let her know that she was on to her, though. She seemed disgusted by the body. If Thalia hadn't known better, she'd say Annabeth was the prin….

Oh, this girl was good. But Thalia was better.

Annabeth was the princess. She was the daughter of Queen Athena. Thalia's face grew sour, and she hit Annabeth.

Annabeth stumbled backwards, checking her mouth for blood. "The heck was that for!?"

"I can't believe I saved you, you sorry excuse for a princess." Thalia snarled. "You cost me _everything_! Because of you, I live in this dump! Because of you, this dump even _exists!_ I hate you, you-"

"Who_ are_ you!?" Annabeth pleaded, backing away slowly, her dagger shaking in her hands.

"I'm the person you-"

"Hawk!" Percy called from behind Thalia. Thalia turned, glaring at Percy. She wished she could take out her contacts to give Percy and the princess each a fierce glare from her intense blue eyes. "What are you doing?" Percy was captivated by the princess.

"Who are you people?" Annabeth cried out. Thalia might've felt bad for her if she hadn't ruined her life.

"We are the Avengers. And we don't prey on innocent citizens." Percy said, with a pointed look at Thalia.

"She's not a citizen! She's the freaking princess!"

"How do you even know who I am?"

"Hawk! Explain yourself."

"I can't." Thalia said tightly, glaring at Annabeth. "Not with _her_ around."

"Whoever you are, girl, leave us. Please." Percy locked eyes with Annabeth, and she scampered away in fear.

Thalia opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off.

"Well, well, well. Look who we have here! The People's Avenger." Captain Octavian grinned. "And you brought a friend! Oh, how I'll enjoy watching you suffer."

**End of Chapter Two!**

**Question. What's your favorite color?**

**My answer is green, blue, and black.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey. Chapter Three!**

**Sorry for the long update….I am beginning High School in the fall. I have water polo two hours a day, four days a week, softball three times a week, about an hour and a half each time we meet, and of course, summer homework. **

"Octavian." Percy snarled. "Finally caught up, I see?"

"Oh, I am so going to enjoy watching you suffer." Octavian dismounted from his horse, his sword pointed towards Percy's chest. "But, who's this? A girl?" Octavian flicked his wrist, and two guards seized Thalia, pinning her arms to her back. "Avenger, did you really bring your _girlfriend_?"

"I'm not his girlfriend, I'm his cousin!" Thalia snapped.

As Octavian opened his mouth to reply, two other figures in black skidded to a stop in front of the guards. Octavian whipped his head to the side, doing the math. Two teens in all black captured by his guards…two other teens in all black not captured by his guards….

"Get them!" Octavian cried, pointing at Nico and Jason. Nico and Jason shared a look before splitting up, running for their lives. In the confusion, Percy and Thalia managed to struggle out of the guards' grips. They raced for the dark alleys, entering houses and jumping over trash, doing anything to evade capture.

One guard caught Nico by the back of his clothes, tearing the fabric. Nico escaped, writhing out of his grip. He ran, nimbly jumping over a concrete wall in the back of an alley. He mockingly saluted the guard before disappearing over the fence.

Jason climbed the roof of one house, jumping from top to top. A guard almost caught up to him from behind. To make sure capture was impossible; Jason needed to jump across a very large gap. Turning around, he made sure that there was no other way. The guard was almost upon him. Jason took a deep breath, getting a running start. He jumped….

…and made it to the other side. Exhaling in relief, Jason smiled at the guard before dissolving into the night.

Thalia easily ducked into an alley, holding her breath as three guards thundered past. None of them looked into the alley, simply sprinting past it, assuming that she traveled forward. When she was sure every guard had passed, she slipped out of sight once again, embracing the darkness.

Percy had none other than Captain Octavian himself on his heels. Nothing would deter Octavian.

"Avenger!" Octavian panted. "You shall not escape this time!"

"I'll admit, this is the first time you've even come close, Octavian." Percy grinned. "But this is the day you will always remember as the day you _almost_ caught The People's Avenger!"

Percy noticed an open doorway. He jumped inside, trusting that Octavian would follow. Octavian did not let him down. Percy knew that each house had a zip line installed; he had installed each one himself. Each zip line led to a different rooftop, and each zip line could only be used once. So far, this would be the first one that Percy used. He quickly threw off a secret cover on a panel, untying something and tying something else to his waist. Tugging once on the line, he raced outside. Percy clipped his clip onto a line, and _whooshed_ away to a rooftop. Percy wasn't really sure how it worked. His friend, Leo, had designed them. Percy just made sure that he installed them into every single house.

Octavian was left, jaw on the ground, staring as Percy escaped. Octavian decided not to mention this little fiasco to the Queen. She would not be happy with him.

LINE BREAK

"Dude. Nice escape!" Jason fist-bumped Percy. It was early the next morning. The cousins had gathered once again in the restaurant at their normal seat.

"Thanks." Percy grinned. "You guys did pretty good."

"Why thank you, fine sir."

"Told you I could handle it."

"Wait…" Thalia leaned forward. "Jason. What did you do to your nose?"

"Uhhh…." Jason's face burned red. "I was…uh…I was jumping off of a roof and…I didn't land very well and I kinda smashed itbutit'sokaybecauseifixedit?"

"You…_fixed_ it?"

"I cracked it back." Jason winced.

Thalia face-palmed. "Jason! First off, why would you be _stupid_ enough to go on the roof in the first place!? Secondly, everyone knows you don't just 'fix it' yourself."

"Wait, you don't?"

"Not helping, Nico." Thalia sighed, inspecting her brother's nose. "Thirdly, I have no idea how to fix this mess. I mean, seriously! What did you do!? Was it bleeding?"

"Yeah, but it stopped."

"Awesome." Thalia's voice was laced with sarcasm. "You know that it stopped bleeding probably because a bone or cartilage is blocking the blood's path." She carefully probed Jason's nose. He winced wherever her finger touched it. "Okay, I think I know where you broke it. I'm gonna have to break it back…maybe twice." She took a deep breath, setting her thumb on one side of his nose and two fingers on the other side.

"Wait, what-"

Thalia snapped his nose back, and he howled in pain. The restaurant (more often called a bar) was so loud that nobody even noticed. Jason grabbed his nose, breathing heavily.

"The heck was that?!"

"Well…I think I fixed it." Thalia sat back, laughing at her brother's expression. Percy joined her, and soon enough, Nico was smiling. When Nico smiled, you knew he was in a good mood. Jason was still looking shocked, and his nose began bleeding heavily. He grabbed the nearest cloth (his own shirt) and began to attempt to block the steady flow.

Thalia's good mood ended when a certain blond head shuffled into the doors.

"Hey, girl." The bartender growled at the blond. "Don't cause trouble." He knew that the girl was new. The bartender didn't care if new people crawled in. He just made sure that the fights were kept to a minimum and that guards didn't march in like they owned the place.

The girl nodded, surveying the place quickly. When she noticed the cousins sitting in the back, she made her way towards them.

Thalia got up, her fist raised.

"Hey!" The bartender yelled gruffly. "If you have to, take it outside." Thalia had some respect for the bartender, so she didn't hurt Annabeth inside the bar.

"Thalia!" Jason shot to his feet, laying a hand on Thalia's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Jason?" Annabeth asked quietly.

"How do you know my name?" Jason narrowed his eyes. Maybe his sister was right. Maybe this girl was bad news.

"Piper sent me. She told me to come to you."

"Bullcrap!" Thalia all but yelled. "Piper would never dare tell you to come here. Not after what you did, you-"

"Thalia!" Percy came to Thalia's other side. She didn't relax her grip on Annabeth. Recognition flashed in Annabeth's eyes. She thought back to the night before, where she ran into a girl and a boy, both in pure black.

"Come on. We need to talk." Percy dragged the two girls outside, ignoring Thalia's protests. "She knows about us. From last night." He whispered into her ear. Thalia stilled, letting go of Annabeth. She took a breath, following Percy outside.

Percy led his cousins and Annabeth to the nearby fence. He easily ducked underneath it, entering the woods. His cousins each did the same. After some hesitation, Annabeth repeated the action.

"So." Percy began speaking when he was sure that the coast was clear. "Explain."

Thalia crossed her arms. "This is freaking Princess Annabeth. She's the freaking daughter of Queen freaking Athena."

Jason's expression changed. He was stunned. "Why did Piper…."

"She's lying, obviously. No way would Piper send her to us. Not after what she did."

"What did I do!?" Annabeth pleaded.

"You cost us our entire life, of course. It's because of you that we have to hide!"

"Hide? From what?"

"Your mother."

"Where's Piper?" Jason asked Annabeth, interrupting the conversation.

"She's okay. She's my servant." It wasn't the wisest thing to say.

"Your _servant_?!"

"You've just now crossed the line."

"It's not my fault!" Annabeth got angry. "I didn't ask for this life!"

"Yeah?" Thalia stepped forward, her voice dangerously low. "Neither did any of us. It's not the life _you_ deserve. It's the life _we_ deserve."

"My sister is dead." Nico announced. "My mother died a few weeks after I turned four. My father died, protecting the castle's rightful rulers. A few years ago, your mother ordered the death of my sister. She was the only thing I loved."

"My mother died, sentenced to death by your mother." Percy shared. "My father died alongside his father," Percy gestured to Nico. "also protecting the rightful rulers."

"And what are your sob stories?" Annabeth snapped at Thalia and Jason.

"I would love to share." Jason turned to his sister. "But it would endanger everything if we told you."

"I already know that he's the People's Avenger." Annabeth pointed to Percy, annoyed. "And the rest of you are his crew."

"Well."

"That makes things complicated."

"Yeah, not the smartest thing to say, Princess."

"Why not?"

The cousins ignored her, glancing at each other until Percy made a decision. "We won't kill you yet…but you'll only cause us problems if you stay in the slums with us. You can't stay here, because you might run off."

"We can't return her to the Queen; Octavian will kill us. He'll totally recognize us now."

"He won't recognize us."

"He won't, but the next time he catches us he'll unmask us and figure out who we really are."

"I could go to Piper." Jason offered.

Thalia shook her head. "No way."

"But-"

"Too dangerous. Someone could recognize you."

"No-"

"You weren't old enough to remember, but everyone there knows us."

"Everyone _where_?!" Annabeth interrupted. She had already inferred that Thalia and Jason were talking about the castle, but how was that possible?

"Should we?"

"No. She'll ruin our plans."

"Plans?"

"None of your business."

"I am the princ-"

"No you're not! I am!" Thalia burst. "Didn't you think for just a moment how ruthless and tyrannical your mother ruled?! Are you really that stupid? Or are you just incredibly ignorant?"

Annabeth was speechless. "I don't…"

"Understand? Yeah, neither do I. Why do you think I live in this horrible dump? It wasn't like this before. Now I have to fix your mistakes, Princess." Thalia spat the word venomously at Annabeth. "So what we're going to do is lock you up until your mother is de-throned."

"de-throned?" Annabeth asked, the worry evident in her voice.

"Where are we gonna lock her up?" Nico asked quietly.

Jason gave him a look as if it was obvious. "Under the shack."

"Ah." Nico stepped back, a bit ashamed for asking such an obvious question.

"Wait. Should we lock her up?" Percy asked, hesitating. "I mean, she did come to us for help. And she is completely ignorant about the Queen situation."

"It would be stupid not to lock her up. She's a threat to us alive, but we can't kill her."

"Octavian will be looking for her."

"Exactly why we need to lock her up!"

"But-"

"Percy shut up and let me handle this. You're lucky that I'm not beating her to a pulp right now." Percy backed down, allowing Thalia to take control.

"Okay, Princess. Now, we'll escort you to your lovely room."

LINE BREAK

"LET ME OUT!" Annabeth screamed, pounding on the door to no avail. "I SAID LET ME GO!"

The four Avengers had shoved her in a secret room underneath a small wooden shack in the middle of the woods. Nobody would ever find her. Luckily, they had provided her with enough food and water to last her five years. They had mentioned that they store the stuff in here just in case, but just in case of what situation, Annabeth was unsure of.

Annabeth sat heavily on the floor, giving up for now. She would find a way out, but for now she needed to figure it out.

The punk girl's name was Thalia. The boy with the blond hair was Jason. The boy with green eyes was the original People's Avenger. The smaller boy with the dark eyes was the youngest. They were family somehow. Cousins? Thalia had mentioned that she was the princess, which could mean a few things.

One- She was mentally unstable.

Two- She was Athena's other daughter.

Three- Athena had stolen the throne from Thalia's mom or dad.

Annabeth really hoped it wasn't any of the options. One meant that she was in the hands of crazy people. Two meant that Athena was lying to her. Three meant that not only was Athena lying to her, but she was a crazed power-hungry lunatic.

Annabeth had a feeling that it was the third option, regardless of her protests.

Annabeth sighed as she realized how far her life had spiraled out of control within the last twenty-four hours.

**Hey guys. I REALLY REALLY REALLY need ideas for my other story, **_**Kingdom of Olympia**_**. Please read and review on that one! **

**Also, review! I love reviews! Thanks! I promise that I will try my hardest to update faster next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. I love you guys too much :) Sorry for not updating, I've been REALLY busy, as you know from last chapter.**

Percy sighed. The four had returned to the bar, without Annabeth, the Princess. "Do you think that it was a good idea to lock her up?" He kept his voice low.

"Yeah." Thalia twiddled with a knife, spinning it around her fingers. "No regrets."

"I think it was a good idea." Nico piped up.

"It was the most logical option." Jason glared at Thalia. "But we should explore the castle."

"I already told you no."

"Why."

"I already told you why. Why do you think we wear these contacts, idiot?"

"I'm not-"

"Oh, really? Who broke his nose, _twice_?" Jason looked down, ashamed. "Exactly. Now, who _fixed_ that broken nose?" Jason sighed deeply and looked away. "Exactly. Me."

"Tonight, this place." Percy nodded to his cousins. They each stood and separated, waiting for night to fall.

LINE BREAK

Percy scrubbed the dirt and blood out of his white t-shirt. He had accidentally dropped it in a puddle of what was supposed to be water just then. Sweat trickled down his face, the big fat drops of salt water rolling down his back as he worked. He stopped a moment, wiping his forehead with a pure white cloth.

Across the road, a familiar guard in a green and silver uniform marched, leading his troops to the work place. Percy had just spent five hours there, working until his arms could no longer carry any more stones. The troops marched, their boots splattering mud all over innocent villagers. The unfortunate orphans and seniors that had been literally worked to the bone were not able to get out of the way in time. The guards simply unsheathed their swords and slaughtered anyone in their path. Never had Percy or the other villagers witnessed so much bloodshed. Even Percy was taken aback by their cruelty.

"Hello, General Octavian." Percy bowed low, almost sarcastically.

Octavian's pride blinded him. He thought Percy was actually being genuine. "Why hello there, young Percy." Octavian knew Percy from previous meetings, where Percy had visited the queen. Percy had visited her, attempting to sign up for guard duty (only so that he could weed out the guards from the inside) but the queen turned him down. Octavian had always taken kindly to Percy, as he had found him seemingly kind.

"What is your business here, General Octavian?" Percy kept his voice sincere and his posture respectful.

"We are here to capture The People's Avenger. Do you, perhaps, know where he may be hiding?"

Percy hid a smile. "No, General. I wish I knew. If I did, I would tear out his throat for insulting the queen like he has."

"That is excellent." Octavian bared his teeth in a shark-toothed grin. "I will be on my way. Farewell, Percy!"

"You as well, General!"

Octavian waved Percy goodbye. Percy waved back, smiling. When Octavian dropped his arm and returned to the road, Percy's smile was replaced by a malicious smirk. "I wish you well, Octavian. I wish you well in Hades."

LINE BREAK

Annabeth ate a can of beans, bored out of her mind. Strategies ran through her head like miniature people running a marathon. Plans swiveled and twirled like ballet dancers, begging to be noticed. Annabeth couldn't put any of the plans into play, however. The Avengers had locked her up tighter than an airtight safe.

That's when it hit her.

They couldn't have made it airtight. She wouldn't be alive if it wasn't airtight. The air was stale and dusty, but the occasional breeze as fresh as a summer beach day would work its way through, purifying the sterile air.

Annabeth scrambled about, attempting to find the crack, the crevice, the literal loophole.

Surprisingly, it only took her ten minutes.

Annabeth put her mouth over the tiny crack, breathing healthily. She gasped, swallowing as much air as possible. After a happy sigh of relief, she left the tiny area, searching for a weapon to break open the shack.

**Okay, guys, really short chapter. Sorry about that. But I needed to update before I didn't get another chance, so….I gave you this piece of crap. Sorry again.**

**Please review! And, please, **_**help me with Kingdom Of Olympia! I NEED HELP YOU GUYS D': DX **_


	6. Chapter 6

**Heeeey. So, I found out that when I'm writing this, I get the best inspiration from the song **_**Kings and Queens**_** by 30 Seconds to Mars. Anybody know it? If you do (or don't) listen to it while reading this! That is, listen to it if you read while listening to music, like me. **

Princess Annabeth had thrown the castle into disarray. Her disappearance had triggered rebellion in many of the servants. Queen Athena had already been forced to poison many of them. A few ran, but only one made it out alive. The guards were hunting her as Queen Athena waited, lounging on her throne.

As far as Athena knew, none of the other kingdoms knew of Annabeth's escape. Athena had taken every precaution to make sure that her daughter's escape was kept secret.

_Escape is the wrong word._ Athena thought to herself. _Escape infers a prison or nasty dungeon. Departure might be a better description._

Not even the villagers knew Annabeth had taken leave.

_I will destroy that pathetic girl. Piper McLean. The escapee. _

Nobody was allowed to know. _Nobody._

Annabeth would become yet another of Queen Athena's secrets. If she didn't come back in a month, Athena could create an accident that Annabeth could've died in.

_Yes…_ she mused. _One little rumor, and the 'truth' will spread like wildfire. I will retain my position as Queen. Nobody can nor will steal the throne from me._

LINE BREAK

Annabeth swung the golf club yet again, causing a _clang_ing sound to resonate, bouncing off of the stone/dirt walls of her prison. The crack crumbled a bit at the edges, but not much damage was done.

Annabeth checked the outside, judging the time based on the position of the sun/moon. The moon had barely risen, and the sun had just barely set. Annabeth thought it might be about seven or eight at night. Stars danced into view, glowing like drops of silver in the deep blue night sky.

Annabeth formed a new plan. She wedged the golf club's end into the crack, shoving with all her might. She planted her feet on the wall behind her and leaned, like she was planking. The club bent slightly, groaning under all of the pressure. Finally, the club broke, snapping into two pieces.

Annabeth cursed as she hit the ground, hard. She got up, dusting herself off.

The golf club was wrecked. Half of it was stuck in the only crack in the entire room. The other half was grasped, uselessly, in Annabeth's hands. Disgusted with her horrible planning, she chucked the piece of twisted metal away, sliding to the floor with her back to the wall, her head in her hands, her knees to her chest.

"I'm never getting out of here!" Annabeth sobbed, feeling utterly defeated. She sounded crazy, talking to the air like it was a person, but she needed to hear the sound of a voice, a human voice.

"Apparently, that's for me to decide." A chilling voice cut through the silence, cutting off Annabeth's cries. "And I will let you go, Princess. As long as you come with me, quiet and stealthy as a mouse. I will let you live, girl, but only because you have some valuable information. I need that information. And I will get it, no matter the cost."

LINE BREAK

Percy was melting another guard, when the ambush occurred. Five guards jumped out at him, catching him weaponless. One snatched his sword, and kicked it away.

"Well, well, well." Percy smirked. "It looks like we have some little bunnies that ran away from home. Why don't you go back to that scumbag Athena until I decide to attack?"

"Avenger!" Octavian strolled out of the shadows, his sword lazily swinging back and forth by his side. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"The pleasure's all mine." Percy replied sarcastically. "Now, do you guys wanna do this the hard way or the easy way?"

"Let's do this the easy way." Octavian sneered. "You just take off that pretty little mask of yours and I won't have to kill you."

"Not a chance." Percy's grin widened, and he suddenly back flipped over the guard creeping towards his undefended back. He hit the guard in the neck, triggering a pressure point that knocked the guy unconscious. He fought the next two, dodging their swipes easily, and landing a few good punches in with the lot.

"Hey, Aquaman!" A familiar voice shouted from the rooftops. "Don't think we can't help!"

Percy risked a quick glance to find his cousins fighting alongside him. Jason on the rooftops, climbing down gracefully. Nico next to him, swiping with his extra dagger. Thalia behind him, defending his back. He grinned, pleased to have the tides turn in his favor.

However, Percy was wrong. The tides were not turning in their favor. Jason was the first down. He was plagued by too many and one of the guards clonked on the head, rendering him unconscious.

"Jason!" Thalia screamed involuntarily, fighting her way towards her little brother, who was slumped on the ground. The guards formed a wall, sealing off all way to get to Jason. He was yanked upwards, onto his knees, still unconscious. Thalia continued to fight, but was overwhelmed and disarmed, brought to her knees next to her brother. A nasty cut on her arm bled heavily, the slick maroon blood trickling down her wrists and dripping onto the ground. Percy and Nico couldn't hold off the rest of the guards by themselves. They, too, were injured and brought to their knees before Octavian.

"Well, well, well." Octavian dragged out the words, his malicious smirk taunting the Avengers. His boots clicked on the dirt as he paced before the cousins. "Look who we have here. The mighty _Avengers_." Octavian chuckled victoriously. "Let's find out who you really are."

He ripped off Jason's mask first. "The blond fool. I remember seeing you. Jason, she said your name was?" Octavian talked to the unconscious Jason, whose head lolled as the concussion got the better of him.

Octavian unmasked Thalia next. "Oh, hello there, pretty one. You look powerful, and very skilled. Shame. We could've used you." He clucked his tongue in disappointment and moved on to Nico.

"You're young. Too young, and scrawny. Didn't these people tell you to be careful? Well, of course they didn't. Don't listen to them. They're bad influences."

"They're my cousins!" Nico shouted in anger, and got a kick in return.

"And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for." Octavian licked his lips like a dog ready to gnaw the meat off the bones of his prey. "The infamous Avenger. The original. The so-called _People's Protector,_ the _People's Avenger_. Let's see who you really are." Octavian tore off Percy's mask. Percy looked up at him, grinning as Octavian's face showed a look of shock and desperation.

"Hello, General."

"P-Percy!?" Octavian spluttered. "You-you traitor! You were going to work for the Queen! You-you can't be…Oh, you little piece of crap! I hate you, you liar!"

"We already knew that, Octavian. Please, get on with the punishment." Percy sassed.

"I'm ordered to take you to the Queen. She will execute you publicly." Octavian snarled.

"There has to be another reason." Thalia looked Octavian over. "The Queen wouldn't have ordered more guards just for us. It's something else, isn't it?"

"Yes." Octavian dropped his head. "The Princess has gone missing."

"Oh, good." Thalia sighed in relief. "I thought it was something actually important!"

"She is important, you ungrateful peasant!"

"One, I am no peasant. Two, why go looking for a fake?"

"Thalia!" Nico hissed. "Be careful."

"How dare you call the Princess a fake!"

"Why shouldn't I? I'm already going to die, aren't I?"

"It isn't the truth!"

"Oh, trust me, _General_, it is the explicit truth, and however unavoidable it is, I know you will refuse to see it. Honestly, you never cease to amaze me with your lack of knowledge and level of ignorance. I will find a way to unveil the truth to these uneducated, ignorant villagers, no matter how long I have left to live."

Octavian paused a moment. "No peasant is that literate. Who _are_ you, girl?"

"I'm keeping my identity a secret…for now, anyways."

"We'll beat that secret out of you. Don't worry, it won't take long for you to crack. I promise." Octavian smirked. "Guards! Cuff and them! It is time to take them to the queen."

LINE BREAK

The stranger wouldn't tell Annabeth his name, no matter how many times she asked. He was taller than she, but he was only about 5'11''. He wore all black, like the Avengers, and the only thing you could see past his mask were blue eyes. What looked like the tip of a scar ran underneath one eye, down his masked cheek. He wouldn't talk until they were out of the shack and deep into the woods.

"Okay." Annabeth sighed, exhausted. "Are you ready to tell me where I am and who you are now?"

"Well, as you can see, we are in the middle of the woods. Unless you can't see. Then, not only are you blind, but you're screwed because nobody's gonna walk you back home."

"Obviously we're in the woods!" Annabeth crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "What's your name?"

"Call me…Jake."

"Jake?"

"Yes." It obviously wasn't his real name, but 'Jake' couldn't tell her his real name. It would ruin everything.

"Okay…Jake. What do you want to know."

"I want to know about the people who locked you up here. Specifically the girl."

"Why? What's so special about her?"

"That doesn't matter." He replied sharply. "Who is she. What is she like. Where did she come from." His questions were flat, like he was stating something instead of asking.

"Her name is Thalia. She…uh…is crazy I think."

"How so?"

"Well, she mentioned that she was the princess, which is stupid because _I_ am the Princess, so…I came to three possible conclusions. Either she's crazy, she's Athena's other daughter who Athena never mentioned, or…"

"Or?"

"…or my mother was in a plot that got her father or mother kicked off the throne."

'Jake' made a 'carry-on' gesture with his hands.

"She has a younger brother. She's got short, spiky black hair and brown eyes…"

"Wait, _brown_ eyes?"

"Yes, why?"

"…it doesn't matter. Anything else?"

"She has two cousins. One's fifteen or something young like that. The other is…well, he's the original People's Avenger."

"People's Avenger?"

"Yeah, they're all cousins, Thalia and her younger brother Jason included. There's four of them and they kill guards, 'protecting'" Annabeth used actual air-quotes on that statement, "the villagers."

"Interesting. Anything else?"

"I don't…think so."

"Are you sure? How old is she."

"Um…I don't know. About seventeen?"

The masked 'Jake' blew out a sigh of discontent. He muttered something unintelligible to himself that sounded a lot like curse words and warning statements. "Anything else?"

"Nothing I can think of…."

"Okay. You may go."

"What?!" Annabeth spluttered as 'Jake' began jogging away. "You're just gonna leave me here?! ALONE?"

He smirked. Annabeth couldn't see his mouth, but his eyes showed enough. "If you can get back, congratulations. I might tell you my real name. Oh, and the castle you're from is that way." With that, he disappeared, leaving a startled, scared Annabeth alone to fend for herself in the middle of the woods.

With nothing else to do, Annabeth set off in the direction he pointed. It was her only lead, and she wasn't going to let herself die. She would hold on. She would survive.

A wolf yowled, crying out to the moon desperately.

Annabeth lost hope, and scampered away before anything could attack. She meekly pushed her way through the bushes, hiding behind trees whenever she heard a noise.

Soon, she was hopelessly lost. Her stomach growled in agony as she trekked on. Annabeth sighed. "I'm never gonna get out of here alive." She said glumly.

A surprisingly familiar yet chilling voice yanked her back to her senses. "Not with that attitude." It was 'Jake'.

"What are you still doing here!?"

"I was following you to protect you. Obviously." He rolled his eyes. "You would've been dead ten times over if I hadn't been following you."

"Leave me alone!"

"As you wish, _princess_." He said the word very sarcastically, as if he knew something about her that she didn't.

"What is it? What is it with you, and my title, and that girl!? What do you know that I don't!?"

He jumped down from the tree branch he was perched on and began walking towards her slowly, talking all the way. "Do you really think that you're the princess? No princess should act like _that_." He looked her over with disgust. "A princess should be out and about in the world. She should know what's going on in other kingdoms, at least in her own kingdom! The heir of the crown must be tough, must be able and willing to fight for what she believes in. You are not fit for the title of a princess."

"And who are you to judge my rule?!" Annabeth grew angry. As of that moment, he towered above her, leaning down so that his face was right in front of hers. Annabeth was not intimidated. She was ignorant, yes, but she was no coward.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He took off his mask, revealing short blond hair, blue eyes, and a long scar that ran from under his right eye to his jawbone. "I am Luke Castellan, Prince of the Kingdom of Legend. I believe you are my arranged wife."

**Hello! Okay, so, yeah. Whoo! Luke! In this story, he IS NOT the bad guy. Sorry. **


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back!**

Percy, Jason, Thalia, and Nico were forced into the throne room, where Queen Athena lounged on her throne, supposedly content.

"I have returned, M' Lady." Octavian bowed respectfully at her feet. "I have brought to you the Avengers. Three boys, one girl, all cousins."

"I'm not blind, General!" Athena snapped. "I can tell perfectly well what gender they are. Cousins…that's interesting, but not impossible. Tell me, Avengers, who were your parents?"

"They seem to be-"

"I want to hear it from them." Athena cut Octavian off. She sat up eagerly, waiting for a reply.

"My mother was Sally Jackson." Percy growled. "You murdered her."

"Oh, yes, I remember that. Well, she shouldn't have stolen that apple from that poor old man."

"She didn't steal it!" Percy yelled. "She bought it with the last silver coins we had. And you! You killed her for it!"

"Yes, yes. The past is the past. Does anyone else want to describe their genealogy?"

"You killed my sister." Nico said quietly. Dangerously. "Bianca di Angelo. She was innocent."

"Mm." Athena leaned back, bored. "But who was your mother and father, boy?"

"My mother was Maria di Angelo. She died when I was four."

"Sorry not sorry." Athena rolled her eyes. Nico could barely contain his anger and grief, shaking from the pure emotion raging within him. "But what about your _fathers_? None of you have said a word about them, and you two haven't even talked!" Athena pointed to Thalia and Jason. Jason was now awake, rubbing the back of his head in pain. "And you." Athena turned to Percy. "You were the original. What sparked rebellion in you?"

"The way you treat your people." Percy spit. "It's barbaric."

"Meh. Who was your father?"

Percy didn't reply, wallowing in silence.

"I said. Who. Was. Your. _Father_."

"Poseidon Jackson."

"The guard who died protecting those two annoying brats? Thalia and Jason Grace? Only the royals know their names, but it doesn't matter. They're dead." Thalia hid a smile. Little did Athena know that the 'two annoying brats' were sitting right in front of her. "But if they were alive, they would be easily spotted. Electric blue eyes were only fitting for a child of that wretched Zeus. Those children were the only two people to own blue eyes since…since centuries ago! Well, blue eyes are extinct in _this_ kingdom, anyways. In the other kingdoms, blue eyes marks royalty. Pah. _Gray_ eyes symbolize wisdom."

"Wisdom?" Thalia blurted.

"Yes, wisdom, girl. I am extremely wise."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "More like conceited."

Athena's eyes flashed with anger. "And who are you to challenge me?"

"The small boy whispered to her, calling her Thalia." Octavian piped up, a smile on his face for pleasing his queen. "And the blond boy, his name is Jason. And the original Avenger is Percy."

"Thank you, thank you that is enough, General." Athena waved him away, her face livid. "What is your last name, _Thalia_?"

Thalia mentally cursed. It wasn't Nico's fault; he was just trying to help. It was her fault that Octavian knew Jason's name. Now, no matter what way she answered, Athena would know that she was a royal. It was obvious that she and Jason were Zeus's kids now. Thalia and Jason. Brother and sister. Not common names. And nobody had heard of them until a few years ago, when they had mysteriously popped up in the village. Not to mention the lack of a last name.

Before Thalia could answer, a runner burst through the doors.

"My queen! My queen!" He panted, the sweat dripping down his face. "I have news about your daughter! She has just crossed the exit of the woods with a strange boy. He wore all black, with a mask only revealing his blue eyes. They wish to enter the castle, but I told them to wait while I informed you. They will enter any minute now."

The cousins exchanged a glance. Not an Avenger. They knew everyone in town, and nobody had blue eyes except Thalia and Jason. They struggled against the guards, but were still handcuffed and on their knees, so they were helpless.

"Bring my daughter in immediately." Athena ordered.

As the messenger reached to open the doors, they were flung open by a certain blond haired girl with princess curls and gray eyes. A boy with mischievous blue eyes wearing all black followed her.

"Mother." Annabeth crossed her arms. For the first time, she noticed the four Avengers kneeling on the floor, unable to move. "You!" She screeched. "Why is it that I am running into all these familiar people today!?"

"Wait, Annabeth, you know these criminals?" Athena shot a glare in the direction of the cousins.

"Yes. They locked me up. He helped me get out." Annabeth gestured to the blue-eyed boy.

The teenager bowed respectfully in front of Athena. He glanced at the Avengers, his eyes betraying a look of shock for just a moment. "Hello, Queen Athena."

"Who are you? I demand you take off your mask." Athena ordered.

"As you wish." He removed his mask, revealing short blond hair and a scar that ran down the left side of his face. Thalia stifled a gasp. "I am Luke Castellan, prince of Legend. I saved your daughter, my betrothed."

"Prince…Luke? What brings you here?"

"My father told me to explore the outer region, in the hopes that I will be familiar with the extent of my kingdom when I rule."

"Why would your father send you on such a dangerous mission?"

"I believe I've already answered that question, my queen."

"I see. You may go."

"Before I leave, Your Highness, I must ask if I may stay a bit longer. It will take a few days to get back to my kingdom, and I have run out of food. May I resupply and stay the night?"

"Of course." Athena waved him away. "Servant! Take him to the kitchen and give him a room."

A short, stout woman with her long brown hair whipped up in a bun waddled over to Luke. She wasn't extremely heavy, but her feet had completely flattened out on the bottoms due to the time she spent serving the royals. Her feet went _slap slap slap_ as she walked on the cold, tile flooring. "Give him a room in the kitchen, M' Lady?"

"No, you imbecile!" Athena breathed an angry sigh of exasperation. "Resupply him in the kitchen, _and then_ take him to one of the guest rooms."

The lady smiled at her queen's frustration before leading Luke out of the Throne Room.

"Annabeth, how do you know these criminals again?"

"They locked me up."

"You dare lock up my daughter?" Athena turned on Percy, Nico, Jason, and Thalia.

"Honestly, we've been killing your guards, burning them to ashes, and spreading the ashes around your doorstop. You'd think that _that_ would offend you more than locking up your daughter that you don't care about for one night with a year's supply of food, water, and air. Well, an unlimited supply of air." Percy rolled his eyes.

"Technically, it wasn't an _unlimited_ amount." Thalia argued. "I mean, what if all the trees, plants, and vegetation were burned in that area? What if the oxygen level decreased, and there was no way to breathe?"

"There'd still be _air_ just not oxygen." Nico supplied.

"See? An unlimited amount of air."

"But what if the shack was suddenly sent into space? No air there."

"Yeah, like _that's_ going to happen."

"My _point_ is that there isn't an unlimited amount of air."

"But don't you see? You're wrong! The-"

"Enough!" Athena shouted, bringing the Avengers back to reality. "Where did you lock her up? How?!"

"In a shack in the woods." Nico said, grinning at Jason. He remembered this time.

"It was actually pretty easy." Jason boasted. "She followed us into the woods, and we talked, and then we brought her to the shack."

"What did you talk about?"

No answer.

"I _said_, what did you talk about?"

No answer.

"Guards! Take them to the dungeon. It's time to beat the answers out of them."

LINE BREAK

Luke grabbed the food he 'needed' and shoved it into a pocket. He only took a handful of berries. It was all he needed for now. And he didn't need it for eating. He patiently waited as the servant explained his room, and then snuck out the next chance he got.

He crept to the Throne Room. It was easy enough; the passages weren't confusing and they were slightly similar to his own castle's. He popped his head out of a doorway and _voila!_ He was concealed from view but could see perfectly the entire scene of the Throne Room. As he watched the events play out, he couldn't help but think back years ago. He slid down the wall, he knees to his chest, his head in his hands as a flashback attacked him.

Flashbacks. They normally never came, but sometimes he was plagued by them and all he could do was watch as his life played out before him.

_[] Flashback []_

_Luke's Pov_

"_They're coming!" A girl, desperation in her voice. I looked down from my tree, watching her intently. Her and a blond boy who seemed to be her little brother raced past. I stood on one sturdy branch, checking to see what they were running from. What I saw made me climb down as quickly as possible and run to help the girl. _

_An army. An army was running, stomping, storming after the girl and her brother. It was King Zeus's army, last I had checked. This confused me. Zeus didn't spend his time chasing little girls and boys. Also, there was no reason to chase them. People in Zeus's kingdom were happy, content._

_Anyways, I swung down from the branches, landing right in front of her. She skidded to a stop; fear alight in her electric eyes. Her brother clutched her hand, sucking his thumb. His innocent eyes looked onto me warily. The girl took a step back, checking over her shoulder to see how far back the guards were. They were close. Too close, I thought._

"_Come on, I can protect you." I said, gesturing for her to follow me. _

"_How do I know I can trust you?" She asked. "The only people I trusted are dead now."_

"_You have to trust me, or else you and your brother will die, too." I said urgently. I really wanted to save her. She was innocent, I could tell. Even with her spiky black hair and punk outfit, I could tell that she was special. Her eyes told me that she was the daughter of Zeus, which led me to the conclusion that Zeus had finally been overthrown. Not that I was happy about that. It was the worst possible situation for her._

_I held out my hand, pleading with her to take it. _

_She bit her lip. "My name's Thalia." She said as she reached for my hand. "This is Jason."_

"_I'm Luke." I grinned, despite the circumstances, and led her to a secret hole of mine. It was a tunnel, and it led to a shack that I had built myself. We crawled underground, deep where the guards would never find us._

_-TIME SKIP-_

"_Remember, when you lunge, thrust your whole body into it, not just your arm. Again." _

"_I know." Thalia replied, annoyed. But she fixed her mistakes. I smiled. _

"_Now you got it."_

"_Can we stop now? I'm hungry."_

"_Sure." We took a quick break. I handed her a container filled with water and she took it gratefully. I bit a chunk out of a green apple, munching on it happily. We were out in the woods again, where I was basically hiding Thalia and Jason. We trained every week, three days per week. I could only get away from the palace for three days a week. We had lived that way for seven years so far. Jason was ten now, and Thalia and I were thirteen. I was just teaching Jason how to fight with a sword, and enhancing Thalia's skills. Thalia was teaching me how to shoot a bow and I wasn't very good at it. She was a natural, though._

"_So how's life at the palace?" Thalia asked. _

"_Boring. Lots of work preparing for being king or whatever." I sighed. "You wouldn't believe all the work that comes with being a prince."_

"_Well, at least you get to be around other people."_

"_Speaking of around other people, look what I got for you and Jason." I pulled out two sets of brown colored contacts. _

"_Where did you get these?!" Thalia asked, excited. Since nearly every peasant had either brown or green eyes, Thalia and Jason would stand out in a crowd. They weren't allowed to leave the woods, for their own sake. I brought them clothes and other necessities not able to be foraged in the woods, but they were still lonely. _

"_It took awhile, but it was worth it." I grinned._

"_Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around me. I hesitated, a bit taken aback at the display of affection, but after a moment I returned the hug._

"_Don't keep them in longer than 10 hours, okay?"_

"_Okay." She released me, stepping back a bit shyly. _

_Before we could get Jason, her smile quickly changed into a look of shock. She opened her mouth to warn me, but it was too late. Something cold and hard hit me in the back of my head with a loud _thunk_. I toppled forward, and my vision went black._

_The last thing running through my head was the memory of her. I never even got to say goodbye._

_[] End of Flashback []_

**Whew! Did anyone catch that TFOIS reference? Hehe. **

**Please review!**

**QOTC: Mace Windu (dude with the purple lightsaber) or Admiral Ackbar (alien guy who commanded the ship in Star Wars episode six. He looks like a cross between a lobster and a human.)?**

**AOTC: Mace Windu, by far. He's my favorite Jedi besides Luke and Obi Wan Kenobi. Any other Star Wars fans here? Whoop Whoop!**


	8. Chapter 8

**|||| Winter Wolf ||||**

**Don't worry, I will. I'm just getting to that, since it will be nearer to the end. Sorry. Thanks for reviewing! **

**Marie Torch,**

**Haha, this made me laugh. I would tell you what I'm planning, but SpOlLiERs will occur, and I HATE spoilers sorry.**

**WriterCat97,**

**Thanks! I will write more, as soon as I have time, whenever I have time :)**

**ArcherGirl12,**

**Thank you! AND YES BUT I CAN'T SPOIL IT. They are my OTP, and they shall remain nameless until I feel like it :P haha, no, but really there is definitely Thaluke. You'll see :)**

Luke regained consciousness. Unfortunately, he had sort of missed the rest of the conversation between Athena and Thalia, Jason, and those other two boys.

"Guards! Take them to the dungeon!" He heard Athena screech. "It's time to beat the answers out of them."

Luke escaped, slipping back down the halls until he reached his room, unnoticed by anyone. He checked to make sure that nobody was guarding him nor watching him. He ran his hands along the walls in his royal room, checking for any divots or kinks. None. He lifted pictures and shelves, looking for bugs. Nothing. Luke grimaced. He knew he couldn't be _that_ lucky. Not with Athena.

He left again anyways, figuring that he could always use the bathroom excuse if he was caught. He walked normally down the corridors, as if he was supposed to be there. He learned the hard way that if you act like you know what you're doing or where you're going, you get questioned less rather than if you act like you're sneaking around.

Eventually, he found the entrance to the dungeons. Like most dungeons, it wasn't a pretty sight. Thalia, Jason, and the other two were chained to the wall, battered, cut and bloodied already. The one with the sea-green eyes had been hit in the face multiple times. That much was obvious. His eye, mouth, and left cheek were swelled up considerably. The younger boy with the darkest eyes Luke had ever seen had been cut severely on his arms. The wounds were still open and bleeding heavily. Jason had been knocked out already (again) and was hanging from the chains, his head lolling rhythmically. Thalia was barely conscious, drowsy from blood loss. The guard had slashed a cut diagonally across her face, directly above her eye. It bled steadily, and she was forced to blink often to keep the maroon liquid from blinding her. Another wound was almost fatal. Every time she refused to answer a question, the guard would plunge a knife into the same place on her leg. Of course, it was the home to an artery, so thick, dark blood rolled down her leg in streams, hitting the floor with a quick _plink-plink-plink_.

There were seven guards total that were in sight; who knows how many were lurking in the shadows, waiting for someone to strike. Four were interrogating the teens, one guard per person. The other three stood guard outside the cells, pacing on the outer layer of the iron cell doors. There were multiple cells, each housing about three or four prisoners. Most of them were scheduled for a hanging.

Luke knew that then was not the time for a break-out. There were too many guards, and too little time. It wouldn't end well for anyone. Ergo, Luke waited, watching the activities and pace of the guards, memorizing any facts that could assist him later on. He grimly watched the interrogation, wincing whenever they refused to answer a question.

"Who are your accomplices?" The boy with the sea-green eyes did not reply, and was hit in the face with the back handle of the knife again.

"What's your name?" The smaller boy with the dark eyes did not answer. A quick flash of the knife, and another red slit appeared on his forearm. In a few moments, the red slit widened, and the blood spilled over the edge. The silver gleam of the knife was tinted with more red every time the boy didn't reply.

The guard 'questioning' Jason was simply beating him now, which angered Luke. There was no reason to hurt him; he was unable to answer, not refusing to.

"Last. Name." The guard gritted his teeth, frustrated with Thalia's lack of conversation. She shook her head, refusing to give in. He plunged his knife into her leg again, and she cried out in pain. Fresh blood pumped out of the wound, and her breathing became shallower. Her eyelids drooped, and she lost consciousness. The guard sighed, pulling out his knife and wiping the blade clean on her jacket.

"Alright, Steven, go ahead." He said, and another guard, built up and muscled, stepped up. As he approached her, Luke was yanked back, a hand over his mouth.

"If you want to live, come with me. I won't hurt you unless you yell." It was a female voice, pitched low. He could probably take her out unless…a cool metal touched his back, sharply probing him. Yup, a knife would do it. Luke was seemingly weaponless, a knife cleverly hidden in his boot, but now was not the opportune moment.

He turned slowly, his hands out to show that he was unarmed. His eyebrows raised, he regarded the girl in front of him.

She was pretty, but not Luke's type. She was dressed in all black (who wasn't these days?) which symbolized that she was a thief, or someone who defied the law. _Someone on my side…_ thought Luke. She looked Puerto Rican from what he could tell. She was a brunette, or at least her eyebrows were dark. Her eyes were dark, cold, with a broken look. There was no doubt that she was working against Athena. If she wasn't, then she was definitely not on Athena's side.

Luke nodded, and gestured for her to lead him. She did, slipping behind him so she could direct him. The two 'escaped' through a secret passage Luke didn't know existed. She tugged on a dusty iron hatch, and a wooden trapdoor flipped open. Dust billowed out, and Luke was sure that it would attract the attention of the guards. He twisted his head slightly, listening for the unmistakable stomping of the guard's boots against the cool stone floor. The sound never reached his ears. Luke was forced to crawl down the dark corridor, the girl behind him slamming the trapdoor shut not very quietly. He watched the spiders and various bugs scuttle across his hands as he made his way through the darkness. Once, a spider lazily dangled from its web directly in front of Luke's face. He jerked backwards, bumping into the girl behind him.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Sorry. There was…never mind." Luke sighed and continued forward. "So…who are you?"

"I'll tell you when we get where we're going."

"Very descriptive. C'mon, I just want some conversation."

"Conversation? Okay. Let's talk about how I'll skewer you if you don't shut up."

"You? Hah." Luke scoffed. Truthfully, he didn't doubt her strength nor skill, but he didn't want to seem weak. "I could take you. Just give me a weapon."

"No chance, Blondie."

"Blondie?" Luke smirked. "I'm not as dumb as I look, Queen."

"Queen?" He could hear the girl's smile in her voice. "Please. More like Criminal."

"Oh, so you aren't working for the Queen." Luke stopped. The tunnel had raised enough for Luke to barely stand, so he did. He spun to face the girl, waiting for a reply.

She stood as well, greeting him with the knife. "No, as you can see. Athena doesn't like the color black."

"Then who are you working for?"

"Myself." She shoved him backwards, inferring that she wanted him to go forward. "Now, please just _shut. Up._"

Luke obliged, straightening as the tunnel continued to grow. He tore through the spider webs, crushing too many bugs for his liking. Eventually, he rammed into a wall. "Ouch." He muttered, rubbing his head as he stumbled backwards.

"Finally." The girl pushed past him, fiddling with the wall. Eventually, she found a handle, and opened it. She jumped up, pulling herself up and into the room. "C'mon, Blondie. If you run, I'm gonna kill you so just get up here."

Luke grinned, following her example. "The only direction I would run is towards you." He assured her, climbing into a tiny room. It looked surprisingly similar to the shack he had built when he was young. People crowded the room, boys and girls combined. All were younger than he, which sort of embarrassed Luke, to be 'captured' by kids three years younger.

"Well?" One asked expectantly. She was a Native American girl, with choppy brown hair that she obviously cut herself. Her kaleidoscope eyes glared at the girl who had led Luke through the tunnel. "Who's he?"

"I'm-"

"No, I want it to hear it from _her._ Besides, you're our prisoner, so shut up until we tell you to talk." Luke was a bit miffed by her sassy attitude.

"Excuse you." He snapped. "Not only am I older than all of you, but I bet I can beat _any_ of you in a fight."

"Then how come you got caught?" A boy with red-stained lips asked.

"Because I wanted to." Luke crossed his arms. "Now tell me who you are, who you work for, and where I am."

"Fine." A boy with golden hair and a bow slung over his shoulder agreed. "But we get to ask anything we want from you."

"Deal." Luke agreed, unsure of how they would get him to tell the truth. It didn't matter. The plan that guy had formed was half-planned.

"Who made you in charge, Will?" The girl who led Luke through the tunnel glared. It seemed that this group of kids was extremely divided. Barely any of them actually liked each other, never mind made decisions together.

"It seems the most logical option." Will shrugged. "I'm Will." He introduced himself, unnecessarily since the girl had already said his name.

"My name is Drew." A pretty Asian girl with hot pink eyeliner winked flirtily at him.

"I'm Leo His Hotness." A Latino boy with dark, curly hair grinned.

"Piper." The girl with kaleidoscope eyes didn't uncross her arms.

"Reyna." The girl who led him through the tunnel nodded respectively at him.

"Hey!" The boy with the red-stained lips smiled. Even his teeth were tinted red. "I'm Dakota."

"We're Connor-"

"-And Travis-"

"Stoll." Two boys who were identical twins interrupted each other.

"Silena."

"I'm Charles Beckendorf. Call me Beckendorf."

"Frank."

"Hazel."

After all of the kids introduced themselves, Luke spoke. "Okay. I'm Luke." He wasn't going to give them leverage over him. If they knew he was royalty, they would think of a lot more to do than whatever they're going to do. "Now tell me who you're working for."

They exchanged a glance. Eventually, Reyna answered him. "Percy Jackson."

LINE BREAK

"Okay. Since you aren't talking, we'll have to work harder." One of the guards grimaced. He snapped his fingers, and one of his buddies brought out a metal stick with the symbol of an owl branded on the end. He plunged it into a fireplace randomly placed on the other side of Nico, probably for this very sort of thing. The guard hovered his stick next to Nico's face. "What's your name?"

Nico flinched, cuddling the wall to avoid the red-hot metal. The guard grit his teeth and leaned forward. "Nico!" Nico gasped. "Nico di Angelo."

"There. That wasn't too hard, was it?"

He stepped back, moving to Thalia. He held the stick directly above her shoulder. "Your last name?" Thalia, completely conscious now, shook her head defiantly, staying silent. He pressed the owl into her skin, and she howled in pain. After about ten seconds, he pulled away, leaving a perfect owl steaming on her shoulder. He threatened to do it again. As he prepared to dig the owl into her wrist, she broke.

"Grace." She exhaled, lowering her head. "Thalia Grace."

He broke into a victorious grin. "Excellent. Her majesty will be pleased to know that her rival's children will be dead by morning."

**Hi friends. So, I sprained my finger on my right hand and it is tak9ing FOREVER Vto type and its so FRUSTRATING LIKE JGFFDADBGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRF**

**Yeah sorry. I'll be back, I promise.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys. I'm back, like I promised. PLEASE I NEED REVIEWS. I hate begging, but you guys are awesome and I really want reviews! I love to see you guys commenting and I love replying! You all are amazing.**

**Dear Ello,**

**IT'S NOT OVER! IT WILL CONTINUE MUCH MUCH MUCH FURTHER! KEEP READING!**

**Dear AncientTide,**

**I AM SO SO SOOOO HAPPY THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! ALL THE REVIEWS YOU LEFT AND I WAS SO HAPPY YOU GOT ME TO 23 REVIEWS THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU ARE AMAZING and sorry, you're right Nico is Batman.**

**On another note, I know I made Travis and Connor twins when they are actually brothers. Trust me; I know what I'm doing. You can just hand over the world now so that I can…oh, wait what? Sorry, that was my evil counterpart, Sam. Sam is a guy. Sam is part of me. I am a girl. Deal with it. Sam is evil, Jayna is good. Sorta. Jayna can be bad sometimes if she lets Sam influence her too much. Anyways, back to the story!**

**Sam: Can we destroy the world now?**

**Jayna: No! Now hurry up and write, before people stop reading the story.**

**Sam: But-but-but-**

**Jayna:…WRITE BEFORE I KEEL YOU**

**Sam: Sometimes I wonder who the good one is.**

**Jayna:**

**Sam:**

**Jayna:**

**Sam:**

**Sam: Oh, look, an innocent puppy imma go kill it bye.**

_Athena's Pov_

"But Mo-om!" Annabeth glared at me. "They don't deserve _torture_. They don't even deserve something as harsh as death!"

"Annabeth, they-"

"Don't give me the _Annabeth_ tone!" She crossed her arms, obviously angry. I began to get cross myself. It wasn't _my_ fault I had forgotten her birthday! I was caught up with an important meeting!

"Listen, Annabeth." My tone was stern. "I am torturing them, and then I'm going to kill them. They are ungrateful thieves who will continue to murder my faithful guards until they are put down." I was interrupted by a man. The guard strode in, pleased about something.

"Your Majesty." He bowed respectfully towards me. "We have obtained new information from the girl. Her name is Thalia Grace, and she is the daughter of King Zeus."

"Excellent." I grinned. "And the boy is her brother, I presume?"

"Yes ma'am, from what we figure. We are continuing to torture them at this moment. Unfortunately, the Grace boy is unconscious, so we cannot question him, but his sister is enough. The young boy with the dark hair and eyes is Nico di Angelo. He's fifteen. His father is Hades, one of the guards who died protecting those ungrateful brats of Zeus. The boy with the green eyes and dark hair is Percy Jackson. His father is Poseidon, the other guard who fought alongside Hades."

"Perfect. Thank you. You may continue your work." He bowed and departed. I began to plan the perfect public hanging.

"His _work_?" Annabeth said, horrified. "That's barbaric!"

"How dare you!" I roared. "My own daughter! Are you having second thoughts about this kingdom?! About me?! I am the wisest ruler to have lived here. You should be grateful to have me as a mother!"

"A mother? What kind of mother doesn't remember their daughter's birthday?!"

"Go to your room. Immediately." I ordered her, and she stalked away, the tears in her eyes barely visible. But I noticed them. And I would never forget them.

LINE BREAK

_Annabeth's Pov_

When I reached my room, I slammed the door and burst into tears. I hate crying, but sometimes the tears fall and they won't stop falling for no apparent reason. I hate hormones.

A maid attempted to open the door, but it wasn't Piper so I screamed at them to go away. Luckily, they listened to me. Who knows what I would have done otherwise.

As I sobered up, I mulled over what the guard said. So, my suspicions were correct. Thalia was the princess, somehow. She and her brother are the kids of Zeus. Percy and Nico's dads were involved in their escape. But that didn't explain Percy's grudge for Athena. From what I saw of the town, it could've been simply that the guards were harsh on the people.

Unfortunately, the poor teens were forced to endure extreme pain (whatever Athena was doing to them wasn't pleasant. They wouldn't have talked if it was just a fist to the face.) And I knew after that, it would end in a hanging.

I couldn't stop thinking about the boy with the green eyes, Percy. His beautiful eyes, his messy hair, his lopsided grin….

Shut up, Annabeth. Think about more important things other than _boys_.

But my thoughts kept wandering to him. We didn't get to talk much, but I couldn't help remembering when he defended me. He said that they shouldn't lock me up. But Thalia shot him down, and he didn't push. But still….

_Oh, stop with the false hope, Annabeth. You may have caught his eye, but to no avail. It doesn't matter. He's going to be dead tomorrow. _I told myself.

_But maybe…._

_Maybe what? What can you do to prevent his suffering? If you really care, just leave him. _

_You make no sense._

_I'm you: you'll find a way to rationalize that statement somehow._

_Agh! Just shut up! Maybe…maybe I can break him out._

The voice in my head protested, listing a hundred different reasons why it was a bad idea, but I wasn't listening. I blocked it out, planning the escape. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but I didn't care. The idea of breaking out Percy and his friends was excitement enough to fuel my adrenaline, causing my common sense to desert me.

I was going to do something illegal.

And I loved it.

LINE BREAK

"Let me get this straight." Luke looked at Reyna. "You work for _Percy Jackson_? Who is Percy Jackson?"

"The People's Avenger."

"Oh, yeah, the People's Avenger." Luke said like it was obvious. "Never heard of him."

"Never…where do you live?" Leo asked incredulously.

"Legend. The Kingdom of Legend."

"I heard the guards are better there…not as harsh."

Luke shrugged. "I dunno. I don't spend much time actually inside the kingdom."

"And where _do_ you spend your time?"

"In the forest."

"Doing…?"

"Not you, for sure." Drew looked at Luke, disgusted by his response. Luke simply continued, ignoring her. He stood, strolling to the nearest window.

Beckendorf and Leo blocked him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To find my friends. You haven't seen them around have you?"

"What do they look like?"

"A girl and a boy. Siblings. She's older. She has short, spiky black hair and freckles across her nose. He's got short, military-uniform style blond hair. It always looks perfect. He's three years younger than her."

"Never heard of 'em."

"You sure? Thalia and Jason?"

"Nope." Piper said, popping the 'p'. "But you aren't gonna go look for them."

"Yeah. You're staying here."

"Tell you what." Luke spun around to face Reyna, the obvious fighter. "I will battle your best fighter in a duel. If I win, I leave, and you never bother me again. If you win, I stay and you get anything you want outta me."

Reyna sized him up. "Deal."

"I'll face you." Beckendorf unsheathed a huge, nasty-looking sword.

"No way, I will." Reyna stepped up.

Will rolled his eyes. "Please. Obviously, I'm the best."

Luke watched as the train wreck occurred. They were too busy fighting each other to best him. As the argument heated up even more, Luke slipped out of the window, running as hard as he could away.

LINE BREAK

"I can't believe that we told them everything." Percy panted, groaning in agony.

"_I_ can't believe that I've got this stupid owl engraved in my shoulder forever."

"_I_ can't believe that I got knocked unconscious and now probably have broken ribs."

"_I_ can't believe that we're still hanging from these stupid chains!" Nico growled, agreeing with his cousins. They were in a bad situation. A really bad one. Nico wasn't sure they were going to get out of this one. _They're gonna kill us_, he decided. _They're gonna execute us and there'll be nobody to avenge us. There'll be nobody to overthrow Athena. At least I'll be able to see my sister…._

Nico had thought about death a lot. After the death of his sister, mother, and father, he had determined that he was cursed. After all, what other explanation could there be for all the terrible occurrences? No, there was no other explanation. Nico was cursed. He just couldn't wait for the day he joined his sister and family…They were all he had loved, except his cousins, of course. He missed her. He missed Bianca. He could barely live without her.

"Well, it's a good thing I can get us out." Thalia interrupted his thoughts.

"How?" Percy asked glumly, sighing. "Can't you just accept the end? There's nothing left for us, anyways. No family besides each other, no friends, no allies, nothing. Don't you see? It's over. It's all over."

Nico looked over at him. He had already given up, like Nico. He could tell that Percy was having the same depressing thoughts.

Thalia had somehow gotten out of her chains and was standing in front of them, looking at her cousins and brother with an expression full of sympathy. She unlocked Percy's chains with a key. They didn't know how she had gotten it. "Never accept the end." She said quietly, smiling slightly. "It's not over 'til you're dead." Percy fell to the floor, looking at her and nodding like he understood.

"How'd you get that?" Jason nodded to her key as she unlocked Nico, rubbing his wrists in pain.

"When they were using the owl burn thing, he had to get close. He was too focused on burning me, so he didn't notice when I slipped the key from his coat with my foot. That owl thing hurt, but it was worth it. Otherwise, we would still be here, getting more and more injured." Thalia explained as she helped Nico down from his chains.

"Now." She started as the four stood in a circle, watching each other and grinning. "Are we gonna give up and just accept death? Or are we gonna fight back, gather an army, and overthrow Athena once and for all?" Thalia stuck her hand out, in the middle of the circle.

"Fight back." Jason stuck his hand on top of hers.

"Gather an army." Nico grinned, putting his hand on top of Jason's.

"Overthrow Athena." Percy clapped his hand on the top of the pile, taking his position as leader of the People's Avengers. They broke, smirking at the thought of Athena's face when she realized that her prize prisoners had escaped.

Thalia unlocked the cage, but didn't exit the room, like they had been expecting. Instead, she approached the cages.

"You all have been thrown in here by Athena." She began her speech, trying to recruit them, however random, however old, however weak they were. "She is the enemy. She is a brutal, tyrannical, and she doesn't treat her people right. Athena will cut you down if you so much as look at her wrongly. She wants her life to be perfect, regardless of yours. We have taken on the job of, little by little, overthrowing her. We fight and kill her guards. But, as you can see, she has way more power than we do. We need to create an army. So are you in?"

"Who are you, to try and take the throne?!" A big, tough-looking girl stood. "We all know the story. The two kids of Zeus are the _real_ rightful rulers. Athena is a fraud, yeah, but when people begin to see that we're trying to get rid of her, where's that gonna leave us? We'll look like prideful, power-hungry thieves! So who are you to tell us to risk our lives for something that might not even work?"

Jason stepped up. "Um, hi. I'm Jason, and this is my sister, Thalia. That's Percy and Nico, our cousins." Percy and Nico each nodded respectively when Jason pointed to them. "It may be hard to believe, but, uh, me and my sister _are_ Zeus's kids. We ran away when we were little-"

"We _know_ the story, everyone _knows_ the story." Another girl stood. "You can't prove that your dad's Zeus!"

"Actually, we kinda can." Thalia looked at Jason and nodded. They each put a hand to their face and retrieved their contacts. The others winced, because who doesn't wince when people take out contacts? It's flippin' disgusting! But when they turned around, electric blue eyes gazed back. "Only kids of Zeus have electric eyes. It runs in the family."

"Fine. Get us out, take us to a safe place, preferably in the forest, and explain. We'll decide what side we're on from there." A third girl, with long dark hair braided down the side of her face spoke. Her accent was peculiar, like she was from a different land.

"Deal." Percy agreed. "Now, let's get outta here!" Thalia quickly unlocked the cages, and the group stood awkwardly in the dungeons for a second.

"Well, what now?"

"What?"

"I mean, how do we get out?"

"There." The third girl spoke again, pointing to an open trapdoor. "It seems to lead outside. I nominate the so-called _Avengers_, as the guards have called you, to go first."

"Fine, whatever."

"Okay. Ready?" Percy asked.

"For wha-" Before Nico could finish, Percy had already started the decision for who was going first.

"ONE, TWO, THREE NOSE-GOES!" He yelled, his hand flying to his nose. Jason accidentally smacked his nose so hard it may have broken, _again_. Thalia beat Nico, who sat there, his mouth open, his hand quickly touching his nose.

"I totally won."

"No way, I did!"

"Guys, it doesn't matter, Nico lost."

"No I didn't!"

"We all saw you."

"Yeah, except Jace. I don't think he can see with that nose job."

"Hey!"

"Seriously, if I have to set that one more time, I'm going to-"

"Just let this Nico kid go first!" A boy threw his hands up.

"We're going to get caught if you don't!"

"Seriously man, hurry up!"

"Fine, Fine." Nico grumbled, slowly climbing into the hole.

"Quicker!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" A muffled reply came from the hole. Snickering, Thalia stepped on his head, shoving him down further.

"Hey!"

"Whoops, my bad."

A few curses were aimed at Thalia, who shrugged and rolled her eyes. "C'mon, you can do better than that."

"Thalia, come down here next so I can kick your-"

"Nicola di Angelo! You are fifteen years old! DO _not_ use that kind of language! I do not allow it!" Percy screamed at him.

"I swear, you all are too immature for being the People's Saviors."

"Avengers." Jason corrected.

"Whichever!"

"Okay, go Thalia, I think he's down."

"I hope not." Thalia grinned as she jumped down the hole. Luckily for her, she landed on something soft. Unluckily for someone else, it was Nico.

"OW!"

Thalia laughed, gesturing for the others to follow her. She quickly moved out of the way, watching as her brother hit the dirt. Hard. Percy fell on top of him, and Jason groaned in pain. The others, in total about seven girls and six guys, cautiously entered the hole, crawling as Nico led the way.

Eventually, they came upon a door. Nico kicked it open, hoisting himself up into a war scene.

"Um, hello?"

Kids were strangling each other, fighting, arguing, and all-out hitting each other.

"STOP!" A Puerto-Rican girl held out her arms, staring at the newcomers. By this time, all seventeen teenagers had entered the room. Surprisingly, the others listened to her, and froze like they were in freeze-frame. "Who are you?" She asked the escapers. "Where did you come from?"

Suddenly, someone stopped, stepping forward. "Percy?"

**Hey guys, sorry for the long update. I was on vacation. No wifi, no computer D`: But anyways, Merry Halloween! JK, but have a wonderful school year. I'll update, but not as fast since I think I'll be taking an AP class (even though I'm a freshman and I didn't even sign up for it) unless I can change it. IDK. **

**Have a wonderful day!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sam: Hey guys. Can you tell me your address so I can-**

**Jayna: NO! DON'T TRUST HIM!**

**Sam: Wow thanks for ruining the plan -_- I was GOING to throw them a surprise party but oh well, guess not cuz SOMEBODY here had to OPEN their BIG MOUTH not NAMING NAMES OR ANYTHING HERE *looks pointedly at Jayna***

**Jayna: But-but-but-**

**Sam: No.**

**Jayna: You- I- they-**

**Sam: Shut up, stupid.**

**Jayna:**

**Sam:**

**Jayna:**

**Sam:**

**Jayna:**

**Jayna:**

**Jayna: **

**Jayna: STUPID IS A MEAN WORD**

**-Chapter Starts Now-**

Percy hesitated, watching the face intently. "L-Leo? They…they told me you were dead."

Leo half-smiled sadly. "Nah, man. It's a long story, but…let's just say I was almost dead, and wouldn't have been alive if it wasn't for…" He trailed off, studying his shoes.

Percy seemed stunned, looking at all of the faces like he couldn't believe they were standing here in front of him. "Beckendorf…Silena…Will…Connor…Travis…what happened? How…?"

"It's a long story, Perce." Will smiled sadly.

"_Piper?_ How did you get away from Athena!?" Jason widened his eyes.

"Another long story including lots of near-death situations."

"Wait a minute, who are the rest of you people?" Thalia interrupted.

Nico nodded, standing by her. "Yeah, we'd like to know."

The tough girl with the stringy brown hair and mean eyes scoffed at her. "Oh look, little Princess doesn't know her kingdom as well as she thought."

"Shut up. I'm sure you couldn't do much better from that cage I freed you from."

"Princess?"

"Cage?"

"Okay, guys, I think we're all a bit confused. So let's just start by circling up and introducing ourselves." Jason stepped up, restoring order.

"Hey wait a minute! Where'd he go!? _Who let him jump out the window!?"_ A boy, Beckendorf, growled.

"Who?"

"What?"

"PLEASE. Let's just figure out who we are first, and then we can chase after whoever this window-jumper is."

"Okay…everyone circle up!"

"I feel like I'm four again."

"Shut up, Leo."

"I'll start." The Puerto-Rican girl stood. "My name is Reyna. I feel like I should say more…but what else is there to say?" She shrugged and sat back down.

"I'm Piper. I was one of Athena's servants, but I escaped after helping Princess Annabeth to visit the village."

"You _helped_ that stuck-up, no-good, _I'm so perfect whatever could I do wrong_ fake?! Piper!"

"I know, I know, sorry. But…she's innocent, I swear. She has no idea what her mother has done."

"I'm sure."

"Anyways, I'm Dakota." Dakota broke the awkward silence. "Um…yeah, that's it."

"I'm Charles Beckendorf. Call me Beckendorf. I was supposed to be put to death by Queen Athena, but…I escaped, thanks to this guy in a black mask. She decided to tell the public that it was a private execution so that nobody would know that I was gone."

"Hi. I'm Silena Beauregard, Charlie's girlfriend. We were in the same situation."

"I'm Leo Valdez, Bad Boy Supreme." He winked at Reyna. "I was in the same situation, saved by some lunatic in a black mask."

"I'm Travis-" "-and Connor-" "-Stoll. We were supposed to die, but-" "-the same guy in the mask rescued us."

"You guys aren't gonna believe me, but…I'm Will Solace, and-"

"Wow! I had no idea your name was Will!"

"What a weird name."

"I don't believe you. What's your real name?"

"Guys! I _meant_ that you weren't going to believe me because I was in the same situation and rescued by the same dude!"

"…oh."

"Well, _I_ was being sarcastic. I think Percy actually thought that you meant we wouldn't believe that your name was Will."

"…no I didn't!"

"You hesitated."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"…he so thought that."

"Totally." Thalia and Nico grinned at each other.

"Hey!"

"Hay is for horses, Jackson, and unless you're a cow, you won't eat it either."

"But-but-but-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Anyways, please continue, Will."

"Uh, okay. Well, I escaped thanks to the aid of the guy in black."

"Alright! Coincidence, much?"

"I think not."

"Who's next?"

"Um…I am." A chubby Chinese/Canadian boy tentatively raised his hand. "I'm Frank."

"Yes. Yes you are."

"Huh?"

"Nothing…."

"I'm Hazel." A dark-skinned girl with curly black hair and golden eyes spoke.

"I'm Drew, obviously. I'm so important, I basically lead this group." She fluttered her pretty eyes at Jason.

"My name's Clarisse. I was captured by Athena a few weeks ago. If you four hadn't helped me out of that cage…I would've been dead by morning." She nodded respectfully at the cousins.

"I'm Lacy." A small blond girl said quietly. "I was captured a month ago. They said…" her voice cracked, and she stopped a moment. She was very young, only about ten years old. "They said they would kill my family and then execute me."

"I'm Ethan Nakamura. I was recently put into that cage for betraying Athena. I had…I had helped Piper get out of the castle, and Athena found out."

"My name's Gwen. I had taken an apple from one of Athena's trees, so I was put in jail."

"I'm Jake. I was working on a sword, building it, but I was interrupted by Octavian. He stole the sword and threw me in jail."

"I'm Mitchell. I've been starving in prison for three months now. They give us one loaf of bread per cell every week and a half. Since we all shared the same cell…well, we didn't get much food."

"My name is Nyssa. I fought the guards when they killed my mom."

"My name is Chris Rodriguez. I…I was one of Athena's guards, but I hated the way they treated the villagers, so I rebelled. Didn't turn out so well."

"I am Zoe Nightshade. My father rules one of the neighboring kingdoms. I got into an argument with him, so he sent me here."

"I am Phoebe. I am Zoe's friend, and I swore to follow her wherever she may go."

"I'm Grover. I, uh, got into trouble when I was working one day…ergo I am here."

"Hi! I'm Juniper. I helped Grover fight the guards, but it didn't work out…"

"My name is Earh. I've been in prison only two days, but…it's a living Hades down there." A boy with messy dark brown hair spoke. His blue eyes sparkled, and his teeth were as white as snow, exposed whenever he quirked his nervous smile. He was thin, a little below average height. He looked to be about fifteen or sixteen.

"My name is Nico di Angelo. I'm one of the People's Avengers. I. Am. Batman."

"Aw, I thought you were the Green Lantern!"

"That was stupid. I chose Batman, for little do you know, I _am_ Batman."

"…really?"

"Tell me, have you ever seen me and Bruce Wayne in a room together?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly!"

"Nico, that is literally the stupidest thing I have heard, and I live with Jason!"

"Hey, Jason, did you know that the world's biggest clam weighs 500 pounds?"

"Really? Awesome!"

"…I take it back, Nico."

"Anyways, Percy, go."

"Okay, hi, I'm Percy Jackson, as apparently most of you know. Um, I'm the original People's Avenger."

"I'm Jason Grace, son of Zeus. I am the heir to the throne that Athena currently occupies. Yeah, I was the boy that ran."

"I'm Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus. I am the rightful ruler to the throne. My brother and I were forced to flee after they murdered all of our fathers. We came back and…I can't believe Athena would treat her people like this! It's barbaric. So, I teamed up with my cousins, and bam here's the People's Avengers."

"Wow. So you're the real ruler?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I'm sure!"

"Then where'd you get that owl brand?"

Thalia shifted uncomfortably, covering up the mark on her shoulder. "I had to, to escape. They were…they were torturing us. Not for long. Thankfully, I managed to get the keys, but…I had to let the guy get super close so I could grab the key, and it was the only way, so-"

"Sounds like a well-made-up lie to me."

"She's not lying!"

"Yeah, they threatened me with it, too!"

"Your whole crew? Seriously? You believe them, Percy? Can't you tell they're playing you?"

"They're my cousins. They're not playing me. I would die before I let any of them get hurt. It was necessary…it wasn't her fault that she has that stupid brand now."

"Wait, guys, what about Blondie?"

"Shoot! I can't believe we let him escape!"

"Who was he?"

"He was tall, blond hair, blue eyes, said his name was Lewis."

"No, it was Lucas."

"Luke." Thalia corrected quietly. "It was Luke. How did you find him?"

"He was snooping around the dungeons, so I captured him and brought him here." Reyna explained. "How do you know him?"

Jason answered. "When we were on the run, Luke rescued us from the army Athena sent after us. He helped us survive for awhile."

"So he _was_ telling the truth about the forest."

"And her." Will nodded towards Thalia. "They did know each other."

"Wait, you talked to him?"

"Yeah. He jumped out the window, though. Somethin' about looking for you two."

Thalia cursed under her breath. "Well, I'm going after him."

"I'm going with you, as always." Jason grinned. "He was my friend, too."

"Count me in." Percy said; Nico right behind him. "Aw, you took my line!" Nico whined.

"You guys are seriously going to track this guy down?"

"Yeah, before the big idiot gets himself into trouble again."

"You guys stay here. Train, get to know each other better, stop fighting. We're kind of an army, now, so get to know each other. We'll be back soon."

"No, you can't just leave us here!"

"Stop! Don't-" It was too late. The cousins had already left the building.

…

Luke stood outside the palace, contemplating what his move would be once he entered it. He knew that Thalia, Jason, and the other two were in the dungeons. He just had to figure out a way to get inside again without getting into trouble.

"Okay, so I could walk in and ask…no, Athena's too smart. I would be killed instantly. Um…I could go back and sneak in through that trap door…nah, Reyna and her crew'd kill me." Luke thought out loud, trying to figure out the best move. Everything worked better when he spoke it out loud instead of in his head. Maybe he sounded crazy, but being insane was better than being killed. Any of these options seemed to end in his death and/or the deaths of everyone else he was trying to rescue. "I could…dress up as the messenger…no. I could fight my way through…no, I'd be overwhelmed. I could…"

"Shut up and wait for me to rescue myself? Yeah, that works." Luke turned, alarmed to find Thalia, Jason, and the other two boys behind him.

"Thalia? Jason? I…I thought you two were dead, I can't believe you survived, how in the world did you-" Thalia silenced him by pressing her lips to his. Luke hesitated a moment before returning the kiss. He heard one of the boys cough "Friend?" but he ignored it.

She was the first to pull away. "I missed you."

"No kidding." The smaller boy muttered.

"I missed you, too." Luke responded, grinning.

"Now, if you two are done reminiscing, we'd better get out of here before Athena catches us…again." Jason rolled his eyes and turned away.

"He's right. Luke, quick introduction, I'm Percy, this is Nico, hi, hey, let's go." The boy with the green eyes spoke, gesturing to Nico.

"And the chase begins." A voice called out from above. Thalia turned quickly to see who it was.

Octavian. Again.

**Oh! Cliffy! Sorry about that…heh heh hehhhh. Sorry for the slow update, but, yeah. I got really confused with my other story, so it took me a few days to actually figure out which chapter was which. I accidentally made each chapter pretty close to each other, with similar main characters and a slightly similar plot at this point. However, each are going in totally different directions. (I am talking about The Kingdom of Olympian btw) **

**Oh, yeah, I'll add more Percabeth in the next chapter. ;) Stay tuned! **


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